You are Missing From Me
by we'reonfire
Summary: "She reminded me of a bird's song just before winter. Her voice thrilled me though, it was light and airy, full of sarcasm and friendly humor. It was smooth, clear and melodic. Maybe I was in heaven, I wasn't quite sure that day, but with her voice floating into my head and igniting a spark, it was so very clear. I wasn't alone." Everlark season AU.
1. The New Spring

**a/n: **okay, okay, I know I shouldn't be starting a new story, but this is more of a practice thing to see if people are actually interested.

okay, the summary CAN NOT hold this much information about the story, so here's the lowdown. **you don't have to read this to understand this**, but if you want to learn a little but about this concept, or if you get confused easily you should read this. but, **if you want to retain some of the mystery for yourself to figure out, stop here** and read the entry :)

**concept:** basically, Peeta has always felt somewhat alone in his life, and there was always this voice singing to him and he has no idea who or what this voice means. He's heard this voice his whole life up until the age of around eleven or twelve. He's around seventeen here, and he hears the voice again, and the next day he wakes up in a totally different place, but he feels at ease here, at home. and the mystery is yet to unfold in the next chapter :)

* * *

It was a cold and chilly night. I lay in bed, the sheets all tossed and rumpled beside me on the floor, despite the frosty feel of the air nipping at my nose. I just sat there. For a while, really. I think it was around two in the morning. I don't know why I caught a strange and uncalled for case of insomnia that night, I just knew something had changed. I didn't know _what exactly_ changed, I just felt like something changed. There was a strange shift in the air, like I was in a different place, but still surrounded by the same things.

But there was one thing that always remained the same, no matter what changed around me. The hollow feeling of being alone.

I was always alone.

Even as a child, maybe from when I was a little toddler up to when I was around eleven or twelve, this feeling stayed in my mind and body at times. They would appear when my parents would fight; and their fights were always vicious and scary. But when I tucked myself in every night, I felt this spark, a pretty voice would sing to me every night they fought. And that pretty, melodic young girl's voice would always soothe me to sleep as a child.

I haven't had that voice sing to me for a while now.

In fact, I went five years without the soothing and beautiful voice that would lull me to sleep.

It was the hardest now, when I needed the voice the most, it didn't reappear.

My father, sweet and gentle passed away the month before due to some sickness I didn't bother to learn the name of. It was horrible, him being weak and tired and in pain for his last days here with us.

My mother, once kind and caring, was now snappy and tired and stressed and just _tired_. It pained me to see my mother, usually so jubilant and cheerful feeling so stressed.

My oldest brother wasn't around much, he was always with his fiancee at his apartment.

And my middle brother, just two years older than I am, was always out or locked in his room.

My family wasn't around anymore.

And so, a hollow feeling settled in the pit of my stomach and stayed there for a good month or so.

But even that changed today.

There was something that changed, and I felt like there was someone there for me. The strange feeling filled me with hope for the next day. I fell asleep that night, easier than I ever had since my father's passing. A small hand brushed my forehead, and for a moment I thought it was my father; but it was too smooth and too small to be my father's. My mother would never give me such a tender gesture like that, so I didn't know who it was that night. It was obviously a young woman, but I didn't have a young woman in my life. The faceless woman's lips brushed my forehead and an electrical feeling started from her lips touched my forehead. The feeling spread to my fingers and toes and filled me with a new hope for the next day.

A smooth, clear and melodic voice filled my head and it got me to sleep immediately.

_It was going to be a new day tomorrow. _

But I never did wake up the next day.

And, I wasn't alone anymore.

* * *

"Is he here?"

"This is the new Spring?"

"I can't believe it, he's beautiful!"

whispers arose around me, and I strained to open my eyes. When I did, a blinding light infiltrated my vision, causing me to squint against the light.

"Oh, he's awake!" someone whispered. I sat up on my elbows and found that I was surrounded by unfamiliar faces.

All of the people in front of me looked to be about my age or a little older. The oldest one was a scruffy old man with a dark stubble that lined his jawline and long unkempt black hair. His eyes were a dull gray but he still looked happy.

"Morning boy," the scruffy man spoke. His voice was deep and raspy and I couldn't help but compare it to my father's voice.

"Where am I?" I groaned. A few excited whispers broke out at the sound of my voice.

"His voice is so perfect!"

"He is literally the flawless specimen!"

_Specimen?_

The man who called me 'boy' seemed to be the only adult in this strange place. I was sitting in a rue speckled field surrounded by teenage girl and boys.

The boy right in front of me was fit and had his arm slung around a delicate looking red-headed girl. Both of their eyes were a piercing green, but the girl's looking softer and more feminine. They looked like they stepped out of a summer beach.

The girl sitting next to him looked stern but friendly. She had a pair of wide-set brown eyes and her hair was the color of browning autumn leaves.

And the boy standing next to her was tall, maybe eighteen, and his skin was olive-tan colored, and he somewhat resembled the man who called me 'boy'. The only exception were his eyes, instead of a dull-gray, a piercing smoky color. His eyes reminded me of the color of ice, in the winter.

And then beside him was a pretty blonde girl with blue eyes and a slim figure. I guess the blonde girl and black-haired boy were a couple, after all, he looked pretty possessive of her. She looked bright and happy, her smile looking like a flower in the spring.

And the last girl, oh the last girl, was the most beautiful out of the bunch. She closely resembled gray-eyed boy and had the same colour hair as the man, they must be related.

Her hair was loose and wavy, billowing in the breeze, and instead of wearing a thin and dainty white dress like some of the other girls did, she wore cut-off denim shorts and a white flowery blouse. She looked radiant, a small smile on her face at a comment from the green-eyed boy. Her eyes were a fiery silver, but not to the point it looked unnatural. She reminded me of the night stars, twinkling brightly overhead and always there. She reminded me of a bird's song just before winter.

Her voice thrilled me though, it was light and airy, full of sarcasm and friendly humor. It was smooth, clear and melodic. Maybe I was in heaven, I wasn't quite sure that day, but with her voice floating into my head and igniting a spark, it was so very clear.

I wasn't alone.

* * *

**alright, so if any of you have caught the trend, mention it in the reviews :) and here's a hint, all of the characters remind him of a special something every-one has experienced. **


	2. A Field of Yellow Flowers

**a/n:** okay, so a lot of confusing things I think are going to be set free with this chapter. I'm really happy that I got a good response, and** thanks to all my reviewers :) you really make my day and put a smile to my face . **

**disclaimer:** I do not own the Hunger Games.

HAVE A HAPPY NEW YEAR !

* * *

"so can any of you tell me what the hell is going on?" I ask quietly, my eyes darting to and from the gray-eyed girl. The green-eyed boy glanced at the man and the man shrugged, picking at a blade of grass.

"well," whispers the green-eyed girl. "you have to believe us Peeta, alright?" she whispers quietly, her sea-green eyes wide and probing.

_Wait, wait, wait. She knows my name._

"How do you know my name?" I ask, my voice trembling slightly. A sharp intake of breath from the girl passes her lips and she stands up and scampers off into the tree. I stare after her, watching as her hair flies behind her as she retreats further into the trees.

"Great, now you pissed her off, nice going pretty boy." the green-eyed boy hissed, shooting me a glare. I shrug and watch as the green-eyed boy runs after her and tries to sooth her.

"How do you know my name?" I repeated, more firmly and stern this time. My eyes wandered over to the silver-eyed girl who was staring down at her bare toes and fidgeting around. Everyone seemed to move their gazes over to the silver-eyed girl, questioning and un-amused. After another moment, the girl finally noticed the glares sent her way and snapped.  
"What?" she snapped. "Is this my fault?" she asked roughly. Her voice sounded so familiar, like something that tied me to home.  
Mutters arose and she sighed.

"Look, I didn't choose him," she said. "but this still isn't my fault no matter what any of you think," she stated. After that, most of the other teens shook their heads or rolled their eyes.

"I'm Madge," the pretty blonde said, smiling her bright smile and she offered out her hand for me to shake. I took it gratefully and smiled politely back to her.

"Gale," came a gruff voice. It was the gray-eyed boy's voice who introduced himself. I gave Gale a nod and in return, he gave me an upturn of his mouth.

"I'M JOHANNA!" the brown-haired girl stated loudly. I nodded at her, but she snatched my hand and gave it a good shake.

"I'm Haymitch," said the man. His rough and calloused hand came up and he gave my unruly blonde locks a shake. I swatted away his hand, trying to flattened my now messy head. "no use kid," Haymitch remarked, enticing out a few chuckles.

A deep, throaty chuckle from Gale and a loud laugh from Johanna.

"The other two that ran off are Finnick and Annie." Haymitch told me. I nodded in response and felt guilt claw away at my stomach.

"I'm really sorry for upsetting Annie," I said hesitantly.

"Oh don't worry," says Madge. "she's just delicate and she's always been like that," she explains. Madge turns to the still nameless silver-eyed girl and nudged her.

"Hm?" she asked, eyes darting to Madge.

"You still haven't introduced yourself," she whispered quietly. The nameless girl bit her bottom lip and my fingers twitched at the sight. She wasn't short, but she wasn't tall either. She held herself high, shoulders back and straight, holding herself like an army soldier would. She glanced up at me, our eyes locking for the first time. My breath hitched slightly.

"I'm Katniss," she responded quietly.

"Is it weird that I feel like you're intensely familiar?" I blurted out. Gale chuckled his deep laugh and Haymitch guffawed. Katniss smiled ruefully down at the floor and looked up at me, her smile full of bliss and her light and frosty laugh echoing in my mind.

"No, not at all Peeta," she laughed. My name slipping out of her lips sounded radiant. "it's not weird at all."

After meeting up with Finnick and Annie and after countless apologies from me to Annie, they finally started to explain.

Madge mainly spoke, with comments from Gale or Katniss every so often.

She explained to me that seasons all happened for reasons. Why was Winter so cold? Why was Fall so red and orange? She explained that the trademarks of each season happened because of them. Finnick and Annie were the reasons that Summer was always so hot. Madge alone was the reason flowers would bloom. Johanna was Autumn, and she made the falling leaves fall. And I learned that Gale, Haymitch and Katniss were dedicated to Winter. It made no sense, why these people would be responsible for falling leaves or blooming flowers. Until Madge pointed it out to me.

"If you think this is fake Peeta, what were your thoughts on us, appearance-wise?" she asked. I was about to point out the obvious, but it hit me.

I compared them all to seasons.

Johanna's hair the colour of browning autumn leaves, and Madge's smile resembling a flower in the spring. Katniss' presence alone reminding me of a bird's song before winter.

They were subconscious thoughts, but thoughts that still meant something.

This theory was tested further when Johanna simply tapped a finger to a tree and leaves started browning and flying away with a blow from her lips. My jaw went slack and laughs could be heard all throughout the meadow.

"Oh pretty boy," Finnick laughed. "you haven't seen the best yet."

We proceeded to field of wilted flowers and I frowned. A field of wilted flowers looked just sad. Madge stepped forward and ran through the field, running her fingers through the dead looking flowers. Upon her touch the field looked alive, the puny flowers blooming and being filled with a light lavender purple.

"Wow," I remarked. Madge smirked and elbowed Gale.

"Told ya spring had that wow factor," she laughed. The rest of the group proceeded through to somewhere else, but I stayed and frowned. There was one flower that was still wilted and dead looking.

"Peety boy!" yelled Gale. I turned around to see them all looking back strangely at me, either giving me a look that had me thinking I grew another head, or just a glare.

"Yeah just hold up!" I yelled back. I gently picked the flower out of it's roots and stared at it for a moment. Upon doing so, the flower started to bloom. The petals turned into a bright yellow colour and the stem grew green again. I laughed slightly and then it hit me.

_I made this flower bloom. _

_It wasn't even stuck in the ground. _

"Hey guys!" I frantically yelled. "Check this out!"

They all made their ways back to me and I eagerly thrusted the flower into their faces.

"Look what I did!" I was aware that I may have sounded a little childish, but at the moment I didn't really care.

There was a loud gasp from Madge as she snatched flower away from my hands.

"Yellow?" she whispered, staring at the vibrant flower. When she touched, the vibrant yellow began to fade and purple started to set in once again. She lifted her eyes back to my face again.

"You made the flower yellow!" she gasped. I nodded dumbly.

"Yeah, is there something.. wrong?" I asked hesitantly. Madge shook her head vigorously in panic and was quick to reassure me.

"No, no, Peeta, you're fine, you're perfectly fine," she sputtered, eyes still transfixed on the flower that was now a light shade of purple.

"Then why are you so transfixed on my flower?" I asked dumbly.

"It's just," she started.

"No-one else has ever made a flower that was supposed bloom purple, bloom yellow instead." Gale explained, delicately pulling the flower away from Madge's grasp and tossing it into the meadow. I watched the flower fly and land in the meadow, the entire field started to bloom yellow.

Madge was close to tears and was hysterical, Gale was trying desperately to calm her down, and Katniss stared at the field in disbelief.

In a matter of seconds, each and every flower was a bright yellow. I didn't know what was so wrong with making a flower bloom a different colour, but it was obvious I didn't belong here. This was a tightly knit group, each must have had their own story, and they must have spent a hell of a long time together. I was just the new boy, the one they had to teach and ease into.

I was a _failure_.

I didn't belong.

* * *

**It just struck me that I used BLUE instead of YELLOW . I completely overlooked that, and I read over my notebook a billion times to check. Curse my forgetfulness ! welp, fixed that problem at least :) **


	3. A New Start

**a/n:** alright, this may seem VERY confusing, but the a/n at the bottom explains all.

**disclaimer**: I do not own the Hunger Games.

* * *

"Madge, you're okay," soothed Gale. It was useless. I was a mess. First Annie, then Madge.

"But how could he do that?" Madge cried. "I've never seen anyone do that, even if we are all different!" she sputtered.

"I'm really sorry," I mumbled, looking at my toes in self-pity.

"Oh Peeta!" she shrieked. She jumped up and stumbled over to me, holding my face in her hands. "You're precious!" she screamed. I tried freeing myself from her grasp but she held on to me tighter.  
"Madge!" Katniss scolded. "Release!" she ordered. At once, Madge recoiled from me and back to Gale's side. She looked sheepish, but she was beaming.

"I'm sorry Peeta," apologized Madge. "You're just so cool!" she exclaimed. My eyebrows furrow.

Me? Cool?

"Yeah right," I scoff. Madge shook her head profusely and started to protest.  
"No, you are!" she protested. I shook my head in disbelief, but went along with her theory.

"Alright Madge," I sighed. "I'm cool, okay! Yay for cool Peeta Mellark!" I exclaimed, clapping my hands together for added drama. She looked me over once with doubting eyes but padded over into the trees.

"C'mon Peety," Katniss whispered, the yellow field seemingly forgotten.

We walked away, the bright yellow flowers drooping back into a pale purple.

We walked for a little while until we reached a beautiful, gleaming lake. It was surrounded with wildlife, birds were singing and leaves rustling with the sounds of scampering squirrels. I immediately noticed Katniss, Gale and Haymitch's wide grins.

"They're the mischief makers around here," Madge whispered. I chuckled and nodded. It definitely didn't surprise me. Katniss merely touched the surface of the water of the lake, and instead of rippling water, frost started to gather around the lake. After a matter of seconds, the lake was frozen over. I didn't even notice the snow that started to creep from the lake and further out into the grass. And after a moment, there was at least a foot of snow we were buried in. But surprisingly, it didn't feel cold at all.

Katniss grabbed a handful of snow and formed into a snowball. She tossed it up into the air and caught it with her hand again.

"See this Peety boy?" she asked. "regular snowball right?" she asked. I nodded furiously and she all but laughed. Katniss shook her head ruefully and smirked.

"wrong answer," she whispered. She blew over the snowball, and I immediately noticed a bluey tinge starting to form. It took me a second to realize what she was going to do, but a second too late; because an overly hard snowball hit me dead in the face. I immediately spit out all the extremely cold snow out of my mouth and noticed Haymitch snickering uncontrollably. He then crouched down and grabbed a handful of snow.

"Oh hell no!" I exclaimed, running and moving to hide behind Finnick.

"Relax Peety," Haymitch laughed. "I'm not throwing it at you, I'm throwing it at-" Haymitch was cut off by another snowball towards him. He immediately ducked and shook his head shamefully.

"Gale, my boy," he swooned. "you gotta be on target!"

"You mean like this?" Katniss threw another snowball at Gale's face, which landed right on target.

The rest of us stood there dumbly, watching the three interact.

The sight of Gale's shocked face had Katniss cracking up.

"Oh, so you think this is funny?" he sputtered, still brushing snow out of his scruffy black hair. Katniss nodded, still smiling like an idiot.

"You little rascal!" he growled half-heartedly and reached for Katniss.

She exclaimed in surprise and Gale rubbed his fist against the top of her head and they shuffled forward onto the lake, still laughing.

"Be carefu-" I started to yell but Finnick stopped me.

"They're fine," he reassured me. I noticed them shuffle onto the lake, but their bare feet remained as steady as it would on land. I walked forward dragging some snow along with my feet as I went. I finally reached the icy lake and tentatively poked my foot onto the ice.

It felt a little cold, but assuming that if this was to happen in real life, it would be much colder. Real life. Could it be possible this was all a dream?

I looked all around me, and the trees and the ground and heard all the very realistic sounds of laughter ringing in my ear.

I think I remember reading somewhere that humans only ever dream in black and white. Judging by the vibrant and pretty colours that I saw, it looked quite real.

Johanna bounded forward onto the lake, laughing slightly when she slipped a little. Gale was still chasing Katniss atop the lake, trying to get her with snowballs, but she jumped and dodged over each one. Her lithe and agile feet never stumbled or slipped on the ice and I wondered how she could ever do that without slipping.

"So, what do you call this place?" I shouted to no-one in particular.

"Panem!" replied Finnick. I nodded and noticed the familiar taste of the word on my tongue.

"Panem," I whispered. It sounded_ so_ familiar, like I had lived in a world called Panem in another life. I wondered how this was all happening, how my family was doing. _My family! _

"What about my family!" I exclaimed, only just remembering them. Finnick shared a worried glance with Johanna. Katniss and Gale immediately stopped their endeavors and stared at me strangely.

"That's something we'll explain later," said Gale. My eyes darted towards his form still balanced on the ice while I stood on the snow. I racked my brain for any distinct memories that was linked to my family. All I could come up with, were names. Rye and Cole. That was all I remembered, along with the thought they were my brothers.

"Look, we'll explain everything thoroughly later, okay Peeta?" prodded Johanna, still atop the ice. I nodded dumbly.

"Okay," I mumbled.

"Let's get to summer," whispered Annie, grabbing my arm and dragging me along.

We walked for a few minutes until we reached a beach. It was serene and quiet, the only sounds would be the crashing of the waves. I noticed immediately, that it was _hot_. As soon as I walked onto the sand, I started to sweat. I glanced at Katniss, wondering if she was okay with the heat, when I realized that winter was not as cold as it could have been.

"Katniss," I said.

"Hmm?" she asked in reply, absentmindedly watching the waves.

"How come winter wasn't cold?" I asked, still walking along the beach. She shrugged.

"It's not winter," she replied. "it's summer, so naturally, it's hot." she finished.

"But it was winter when I came here," I said confusedly. Katniss stopped in her tracks. She stared at me in wonder.

"You've been sleeping for years," she said, her gray eyes wide. "it hasn't been cold here for a while Peeta," she mumbled.

"So, I've been asleep for how many years exactly?" I asked, trying to get further details.

"You've been asleep for a good nine years."

the gap was astounding. I only expected to be asleep for a few years, not nearly ten.

"What did I do when I slept?" I asked. Katniss laughed and joked around.

"Well, you were making us a nice dinner!" she exclaimed, her pretty laugh resounding in my mind. I didn't know what was happening, or why I was here, but I knew one thing.

I was glad I was here.

* * *

"Hey, toss the frisbee would ya?" Johanna snapped. I laughed and snapped my wrist to let it fly. We were here for a good few hours. It had turned to night and a bonfire was going, the flames flying high.

"I'm gonna take a break!" I yelled. Johanna nodded in acknowledgement, and I made my way over to Gale where he sat next to the fire. I think Johanna was just happy to see me go. I glanced at Gale to see him watching Madge and Katniss play catch with a baseball.

"KATNISS!" Madge screamed. "GO LONG!"

Katniss sped past us as Madge threw the baseball impossibly far. And Katniss being Katniss, she caught the ball no problem and threw it back to Madge. The ball flew out of her hand and it sped towards Madge at a lightning speed.

"She'll catch it," Gale said, not even glancing at me.

It was true. She caught it no problem.

I watched everyone, they all looked perfect and happy. I could tell that my start in life was not a particulary nice one. I was just a boy, no-one special, I didn't even look attractive. All of them were perfect, flawless.

"I know what you're thinking," said Gale. "you think that we're all so perfect." he sighed.

"Peeta, we're just like you. We all had a bad start." he mumbled, his usually deep and self-assured voice, tiny and weak. "Madge had a bad start. She had a loving boyfriend before me, and they slept together one night, no protection, no nothing. She got pregnant." Gale said. "And she gave birth at sixteen years old. A healthy little baby girl. Gabriel, her boyfriend at the time, named her Iris. Madge never got to meet her." Gale finished.

"Why?" I asked.

"The labour was too gruesome for her, and she passed away after she gave birth. She never even got to touch her."

"Why does this involve me?" I asked. It was an honor to know Madge's story, but I couldn't find any sense as to why I was involved in any of this.

"All I'm saying Peeta, is that we all had a life before this one. We were all broken."

* * *

"Does the fire bother you?" I asked curiously. Gale shrugs.

"Not too much, our body temperature is lower than yours is." Gale explained.

"Oh."

A moment of silence passed peacefully over us before I broke it.

"So are you and Madge," I made a motion with my hands. "you know, together?" I asked timidly. Gale nodded, smiling and chuckling.

"Yeah, and are you smitten with Katniss?" he asked, turning to me with knowing eyes.

"Wh-what?" I sputtered. "No, no, I, erm, well, no, no!" I stuttered. Gale didn't look convinced.

"Alright lover-boy," he laughed. I blushed profusely and turned back to watch Katniss and Madge. I felt Gale's gaze piercing into my soul, but I ignored it and I watched Katniss smile.

* * *

By now, it was midnight and the only light came from the blazing fire in front of us. Gale had a guitar in hand, and the frisbees and baseballs were all put away, all of us huddled in front of the fire; save for Haymitch.

Gale strummed a gentle melody and Madge hummed along to the tune.

"Katniss," Finnick said softly. "you should sing," he said quietly. Murmurs of agreement went around the circle and Katniss shook her head softly.

"I can't sing," she mumbled.

"Can't sing my ass," Johanna snorted. "I bet lover-boy over here would like to hear that lullaby of yours," at the word 'lullaby', I perked up. Over the hours I could remember that angelic voice that would sing me to sleep before. I couldn't remember the words, but I could never forget the voice that saved me.

Katniss blushed, and I thought the rosy pink that bloomed on her cheeks looked lovely. Gale handed her the guitar gingerly and she strummed a gentle tune. When she opened her mouth, my heart stopped.

_Deep in the meadow, _

_Under the willow, _

_A bed of grass, _

_A soft green pillow, _

_Lay down your head, _

_And close your eyes, _

_And when again they open, _

_The sun will rise, _

_Here it's safe, _

_And here it's warm, _

_Here the daisies guard you from all harm, _

_Here your dreams are sweet, _

_And tomorrow brings them true, _

_Here is the place where I love you. _

The last verse was barely audible, a whisper and a rasp.

I could feel all eyes on me, and I could tell they knew what I was.

I was a seventeen year old_ boy_.I was nothing special, before I came here.

Her voice was pure, clear, melodic, soothing. Everything that I felt when she was around.

She was the voice that lulled me to sleep, the voice that saved me from all that would hurt.

She was with me even before the start.

* * *

**ok, so confused about Madge ? Here's the lowdown: **

basically, this story was told by Gale, yeah? He's telling it from HIS point of view. Madge was obviously still on Earth at the time, NOT ON PANEM. so, Madge died in labour and just woke up in Panem like Peeta did. Does that explain things slightly? Gale talks about Madge and tells her story because he actually watched it happen. He watched Madge grow up, get her heart broken etc. So he's telling her story from BEFORE she got to Panem.


	4. The Rumble

**a/n:** I'm BAAACK with another chapter :)

**disclaimer:** I do not own the Hunger Games, and I am in no way affiliated with Suzanne Collins or her works.

**okay, kinda angsty.. hehe, hope you don't mind. **

* * *

The fire is still steady and cracking when I wake up in the middle of the night. I glance around the campfire, and I am surprised when I see Haymitch splayed out across a log, snoring loudly. He looks younger in sleep, the usual wrinkles disappearing from his face. He disappeared when we were out on the beach.

I take another look around and see Madge and Annie fast asleep beside each other. Propped up against another log was Johanna who closely resembled Haymitch as she splayed across the log, nearly taking up the entire thing. I notice that neither Gale or Finnick are asleep, but sitting at the shoreline of the ocean. I yawned and stretched my arms, hitting something cool. The object groaned quietly next to me and I froze. I turn my head to see Katniss curled up next to me with a blanket draped across her gently.

Her sleep was peaceful, her breathing mixing with the crackling of the fire. Her chest rose and fell steadily against the blanket and I pulled the sheet down her shoulders a little. My fingertips trembled as I pulled the blanket down to reveal more of her arm. She shivered a little but smiled in her sleep appreciatively. After relieving her of the blanket entirely, her shirt had ridden up and a sliver of her waist peeked out from under her shorts. I turned away gingerly to avoid my eyes to oogle a little more, only to turn back and press a precarious kiss to her forehead.

As far as I knew, she was only sixteen. I knew a few tid-bits about myself. I'm seventeen. My birthday is in March and I had two older brothers. I only knew their names, but I had a vague picture in my head of them. I knew the one closest to my age, Rye, looked like me. I think we all had the blonde hair and blue eyes. Cole was the oldest and I knew he had a fiancee.

That was all I knew about my past.

Katniss shifted beside me and she shuffled closer to me unconsciously. I couldn't deny anything, and if I was, I would be lying.

Katniss was attractive.

Actually, way more than attractive.

More like drop-dead gorgeous.

And I had an instinctive feeling to be close to her.

Katniss shuffled even closer and grabbed my arm and used it as a pillow. With my heart in my throat I laid down next to her and she pressed even further into me. She wrapped her arms around my middle and pressed her head into my chest. Laying us down, I wrapped my arms around her tiny form and I hadn't felt any safer in my life.

* * *

I awake to a deep rumbling in the ground. My eyes pop open and I nudge Katniss awake.  
"Katniss," I say, shaking her shoulder. Katniss groans and her eyes open, still groggy and despite our current situation, I find it cute.

"Is the ground supposed to shake?" I asked gingerly, standing up and using my arms to balance myself. Katniss' eyes widen, as if she had only just woken up. The ground rumbled even further and I fell over to the sandy ground.

"FINNICK! ANNIE!" Katniss screamed. Finnick's eyes popped open and widened at the ground. He shaked Annie awake urgently and the ground shifted again, slamming me against Katniss. I held her steady as she almost over, and Haymitch and Gale started to awaken. The ground shifts again, more violently this time and Madge tumbles into Johanna. Johanna releases a few curse words but stands up unsteadily, helping Madge up to her feet.

"What's happening?" I shouted, still holding Katniss steady.

"Haymitch!" Finnick shouted, holding onto a nearby tree for balance. "The yearly quake isn't supposed to come for another month!" he shouts, holding onto the tree tighter as the ground groans under our feet once again.

Katniss' grip on me tightens on me as the ground shakes more violently. My heart-beat quickens and I look down at Katniss.

Her eyes are wild with fear, and my heart jumps. My head whips around to look at Haymitch, who has the same look in his eyes. This is the moment I know we're in serious trouble.

"THE WATER!" Johanna screams. I whip around to see the water rising and tumbling towards us in a giant wave.

Katniss and I share a glance, and she screams.

"RUN!"

We run into the trees, and I stumble over tree trunks and rocks as we run. Katniss runs gracefully beside me, never stumbling or falling. She pulls ahead and I trip over a tree trunk and slam onto the ground.

This is it, I think.

I'm gonna die. Again.

"Peeta!" a voice shouts. Annie comes running back to me and pulls me to my feet and we run throught the forest once again. I turn my head to see the water rushing to us and I run faster, dragging Annie roughly to pull her to safety. Katniss slams to the ground in front of me and I have no time to wonder where the hell she came from. She runs with us to where Finnick and the rest are safely on a cliff.

"This way," Katniss says calmly. We run in the direction Katniss pointed and the ground rumbles under us again. We make it to the cliff where the rest stand. Annie runs into Finnick's arms and they share a loving embrace.

"Are you okay?" he asks worriedly, brushing away some of Annie's hair. She nods and Finnick glances to me.

"You okay?" he asks. I nod and open my mouth to reply, but the ground rumbles again. Everyone grabs a hold of someone and Madge grabs me while Gale holds Katniss steady. The world shifts again and Annie is thrown out Finnick's grasp.

"Annie!" he yells. Annie lies on the rocky ground and the ground shakes again. Annie shrieks and she is thrown off the ledge of the cliff.

"ANNIE!" Finnick roars, he shakily makes his way to the edge and peers over the cliff.

"I'M OKAY!" A voice shouts. Finnick sighs in relief but is cut off when a shrill scream pierces the air. I crane my neck enough to see Annie falling into the water below the cliff.

"ANNIE NO!" Finnick screams. He stands and positions himself to dive, but Katniss grabs his arm and pushes him away.

"No Finnick," she orders. Finnick protests immediately.

"What are we gonna do about-" he starts, but Katniss cuts him off.

"No, you can't go in there. The water is too hot for you, you're gonna overheat instantly, then both of you could die." Katniss informs, hands trembling. "I'll go," she says. Madge tenses up beside me and she lets out a shriek.

"No, Katniss!" she cries. "You can't! You'll die!" Madge trembles in my grasp. Katniss smiles sadly.

"I have to try, I can't let my best friend die." Katniss mutters. "I'll be okay. I'm the only one who can swim other than Finnick, and my body temperature can help me to stay under the water longer," it's a good idea, but it's risky.

"It could work," Haymitch speaks up. Katniss nods and shakily makes her way to the edge of the cliff. Madge cries wildly in my arms, burying herself in my grasp.

"Be careful Katniss," Gale says. Katniss nods without looking at Gale and her eyes flash with fear for a fleeting heart-beat, and she dives into the water.

* * *

She surfaces a moment after she hits the water. Gale sighs in relief and Katniss' head bobs back under the water as she searches for Annie under the depths. The ground keeps a steady rumble, but it's much more gentle than before.

The sun beats down on us and I see Gale breathe heavily. I realize that the heat must be bothering him.

"Gale, you should go into the shade," I suggest. "or maybe back to the lake quickly." Gale shakes his head and hisses at the heat. Johanna scoffs and shakes her head, looking back to the water.

"The lake isn't cold." he mutters grumpily.

"It was cold a few days ago," I protest, loosening my grip on Madge slightly.

"It isn't now." Gale states. "This place still endures seasons too. And the lake is only a little cool. It's the dead of August. It isn't much better than the water down there." he gestures down to the still raging sea.

"Are we really discussing a stupid lake when Annie and Katniss have gotten each other in a suicide mission?" Johanna asks grumpily. She huffs and watches the water.

A tense silence settles over us, and the rumble in the ground turns down to a slight shake. I push Madge towards Gale gently and she smiles up at me thankfully. I smile tensely back at her and watch as Gale makes an inspection of her face.

"You're okay?" he asks. "Are you hurt?" he brushes away Madge's hair to search her forehead and cheeks. Madge swats him away and says she's fine.

"She found her!" Johanna yells. I look over the ledge to see Katniss dragging a groggy Annie onto the shoreline.

We run over to them quickly, the journey much quicker when we can cut right to the beach. Finnick stumbles over to Annie.

"Oh god, you're okay," he breathes. Annie nods and coughs up a little water. Everyone crowds around Annie that nobody notices Katniss heaving and coughing beside up. She shakily makes her way up, but she collapses to the sand pitifully.

"Oh Katniss!" Johanna exclaims. Katniss lies on the beach, eyes wide and blank.

"What's wrong sweetheart?" Haymitch huffs, looking into Katniss' eyes concerningly. Katniss coughs in response and heaves.

"It's t-too hot," she groans, her eyes closing as her skin breaks out into a sweat.

"What are we going to do?" Johanna asks nervously. "The lake isn't cold enough to get her temperature down to normal," Johanna exclaims.

I grab Katniss' shoulders and help her up to her feet. She looks tiny, her locks sopping and her skin sticky with sweat. I make my way into shade, Katniss limply walking next to me. But right as we reach the end of the sand, Katniss collapses to the ground, her eyes blanking and body landing with a dull _thud_.

* * *

**so. in summary, Peeta holds Katniss for a nice nap, he wakes up to find there is a yearly earthquake, they run through the forest, Annie falls off a cliff, Katniss decides to commit suicide, and she collapses from overheating. **

Jeez. Dumb teenagers.

**in the reviews, leave a suggestion as to how the gang should help Katniss get back to her full health. And if you don't... well.. let's just say Peeta's gonna be a little heart-broken by the death of his crush. **


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